Since 1984: Jay-Z Releases “The Black Album” 10 Years Ago!

It was promoted as his final studio album, which serves as a recurring theme, although Jay-Z returned to solo recording with Kingdom Come in 2006. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 463,000 copies in its first week. It produced three singles that attained Billboard chart success, including Hot 100 top-ten hits “Change Clothes” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulder”. Upon its release, The Black Album received acclaim from most music critics. The Black Album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 47th Grammy Awards, ultimately losing to Kanye West’s The College Dropout. The album was ranked #349 in Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums. Jay-Z said the album would have a different producer for each track, and early magazine advertisements listed a series of numbers (representing tracks) and a producer for each number. Dr. Dre and DJ Premier were originally supposed to be among these producers however did not make the final cut. The final album did feature a variety of producers, although Roc-A-Fella producers Kanye West and Just Blaze produced two tracks each, in addition to the two produced by frequent Jay-Z collaborators The Neptunes. – Wikipedia

Many Hip Hop fans would agree that The Black Album is one of Jay-Z’s greatest albums throughout his career.

Pharrel talks about working on The Black Album:

Aqua & 3H “Decode” their co-produced song “My 1st Song” off The Black Album: What were your favorite tracks off Jay-Z’s The Black Album? It was full of some great joints, lets hear them in the comments section.

Also, don’t forget to tune into Revolt TV tonight as they discuss the making of The Black Album. Check out this preview with Just Blaze who produced “Lucifer”.